A temporary fix to the Pine Street entrance to Perry’s Gun Shop tells customers to use caution while using the glass door that was busted during a early morning break-in at the store in Wendell, N.C. Monday, Nov. 21, 2016. Aaron Moodyamoody@newsobserver.com

A temporary fix to the Pine Street entrance to Perry’s Gun Shop tells customers to use caution while using the glass door that was busted during a early morning break-in at the store in Wendell, N.C. Monday, Nov. 21, 2016. Aaron Moodyamoody@newsobserver.com

Wendell police charge three men in Perry’s Gun Shop break-in

Police here filed felony charges against three Edgecombe County men on Tuesday, the day after an early morning break-in at Perry’s Gun Shop.

Wendell police Chief Bill Carter issued a statement Wednesday afternoon indicating one of the three suspects had been arrested Tuesday in connection with a string of armed robberies in Pitt County.

After Pitt officials notified Wendell police of the arrest and possible link to the break-in at Perry’s, investigators from Wendell, Pitt County, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the U.S. Marshals Service were able to identify and arrest the other two suspects.

“That (first arrested suspect) began to reveal information that led to the subsequent arrests of the other suspects,” Carter said.

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All three men face charges of felony breaking and entering and felony larceny of a firearm. They are Jah’Nas Navi Sharpe, 17, of 747 Dunbar Woods Road, Battleboro; James Leroy Everette, 22, of 214 Speight Ave., Tarboro; and Darricus Diquel Suggs, 22, of 300 Cantongate Road, Tarboro.

Bonds for the Wendell charges were set at $50,000 for Suggs and $25,000 for Everette. Sharpe’s bond was pending Wednesday afternoon.

Carter said all three are facing additional charges and bonds from Pitt County and possibly other counties where they have been involved in unrelated crimes.

“The investigation is still ongoing and there are some unfolding things associated with these individuals in other jurisdictions,” Carter said.

Wendell police responded to an alarm call at the local gun shop, located on the corner of East Third and North Pine streets, about 3 a.m. Monday.

Perry’s Gun Shop is located across the intersection from the Wendell Police Department. When the several people shown in surveillance video entered the store, it triggered an alarm.

“We were there very, very quickly,” Carter said. “We were on patrol, but had a patrol officer in the immediate area. (The call) was dispatched at 3:02 and he arrived at 3:02.”

When police arrived, they found the glass door entrance off Pine Street and a display case inside the store had been broken. Surveillance video also showed a sport utility vehicle police said was of interest in the investigation.

Carter on Wednesday said nine weapons were taken from the store. Some of the guns had been recovered and investigators were working leads to locate the others, he said.

Perry’s Gun Shop was the target of another significant case of theft earlier this year, though the previous crime was shorter lived.

In January, Wendell police arrested five Henderson people after a man took three scopes valued at $2,500 from an unlocked display case, ran out of the store, jumped into a waiting car and sped away – all while Capt. John Slaughter watched from his patrol car across the street.

The man was arrested after a short foot chase and the four other people involved were charged with aiding and abetting larceny and organized retail theft.